New works at Tinker Tailor!

I've just dropped off a bundle of watercolours to the charming Tinker Tailor in Trentham.

Tinker Tailor is a little space for artists and makers and they boast some pretty stunning wares, you can follow this link to their blog http://tinkertailortrentham.blogspot.com.au/ and have a little sneak peak.

Tinker Tailor is open Thursday- Sunday and my work will be up for the next month, so if you're in town, or even near by, pop in and have a look.

x

Watercolour peg studies

I found a bunch of beaten up old wooden pegs and spent last week doing a few watercolour studies.

I enjoyed the process of observational drawing so much making these. Foreshortening decreasing angles and translating the stack of pegs on to paper was a lot of fun.

Even after all these years, I don't think there is a paper that comes close to the Fabriano Artistico 640gsm hot pressed paper. I adore it! 

Here are the studies.

Rags an' old iron

It's been a while since I last posted, but here's what I've been up to...

A couple of Charcoal studies on paper.

These two drawings are studies for an oil painting I'm working on at the moment, here's a sneak peak of the underpainting.

The Wood Duck

After seeing the little watercolour ducks I'd painted (see "Quack" post for photos) my mums boss asked if she thought I could paint wood ducks, she just loves wood ducks and who can blame her, they are so beautiful!
So my gorgeous mother commissioned me to paint one for her as a gift. Now, I don't think Mrs. M follows my blog so it's pretty safe to post a picture of the painting here without ruining the surprise...

So here it is. The Wood Duck. Oil on linen panel. 26 x 28cm. 2012.

A foray in to Printmaking

I have had the pleasure of being invited to participate in Rona Greens' Beautiful Soup printmaking folio exchange and exhibition. (I'll post more details in the coming weeks)



I was very honored to be invited to make a work for this show, but naturally quite nervous about doing a poor job of it.



Not having had experience with printmaking
 and only having only the most basic tools
 at my disposal, I set about creating my first Linocut, a reduction lino, with 3 colours.

After weeks of research and planning, I took a deep breath and jumped in to the unknown, the dark art of printmaking, with surprising results.
           

I didn't do too bad a job of it and had a lot of fun in the process.

 I really enjoyed the focus and care required for such a meticulous process and I'm looking forward to bringing more printmaking in to my practice.

All systems go (or getting ready to)

So it's official. We got the house and I'm moving to Trentham!

My studio is all boxed up, which I must say is a little bit sad, but I can't wait to unpack it at the other end... There's a huge box labeled 'PAINT' that I reckon will be unpacked before anything labeled 'KITCHEN'!

I just can't wait to really get in to it. I've been gathering all resources at my disposal and I'm planing to put myself in to home school and learn all the things I was never actually taught at art school.

 Painting is #1 on the list of things to explore and I found numerous boxes of charcoal when packing up my studio and remembered how much fun it was to make big messy drawings, so that's #2.

Going through my studio was extremely tedious, but very rewarding... For every box of bullshit I sorted through I found an inspiring sketch or some materials I haven't used in the longest time. My most exciting find was my small embossing tool and a WHOLE BOX of graphite blocks, which I was using in Honours to make these...

Installation View. Graphite on paper. 2008

Detail. Graphite on paper. 2008

Now I don't think I'm likely to go back to working so geometrically, but this process is a way of working that I think I will pull off of the back burner...

A New Life in a New Town...

I've felt a big change coming in my work and myself this year, and after months of anticipation it has finally arrived...
I'm starting a new life in a new town. A couple of darling friends and I are packing up and going country!
We found a charming little house in Trentham (fingers crossed we get it) and if all goes according to plan I'll be a country girl again in a month!

I've been craving a change of pace and a change of scenery all year, the city is bringing me down. With all its pavement and cooch grass and advertising fucking everywhere, the empty consumerism, the noise, the right angles... It's overstimulating and I can't breathe here anymore, the city forces pace that's not my own and I've made a choice to quietly slip away from it all.

I'll keep working in the city for a couple of months until I've squirreled away enough money to do what I've always dreamed of! No, it's not saving so I can fuck off overseas for 6 months to 'find myself'...
I'm saving to support myself for 6 months so that I can paint full time and find my work.

The dream rental has  beautiful little sun room-come studio for me to work in and I'm going to brave the cold (and wet and snow) and do some en plein air painting. I'm just going to paint and paint and paint. For years I've fantasized about having the means to abandon responsibility and my commitments and just really go for it in the studio but post-art-school poverty and the retail-rat-race has never allowed it, until now. I've reached a point where I can justify stepping from the path I was on and taking a bigger risk for my practice.

I haven't ever felt fulfilled as an artist, knowing that I could have always tried harder, done better, taken longer to resolve ideas and methods and allowed enough time for my work to develop. I think that's why my work has jumped around so much in the last couple of years. I've been so worried about keeping pace, keeping up and having a show, having a show, having a show that my work has suffered.

This year, I'm slowing everything down and letting myself and my work evolve and develop at a more natural pace. What better place to do that than Trentham?

So I don't really know where I'm going with my work or what I'm going to do, but everything has lined up perfectly for this change to come, so I'm sure it will find me...

Golden Demo

This came through my email and I wanted to share the opportunity for anyone interested...

St Luke has booked Golden Artist Educator, Merryn Trevethan for three in store demonstrations on Saturday 19th MAY.  

Each demonstration will run for approximately 45 minutes and there are three different Golden Acrylic Applications to choose from.  

Bookings are essential so please contact a St Lukette to reserve your place. All you are required to bring is a visual diary.

1:00 -1:45 Golden Gels and Grounds

Merryn will experiment with the diverse range of Golden gels and grounds to uncover 

how acrylic can be manipulated and utilised in a variety of methods.

The differences between all Golden Acrylic Paint ranges will be discussed and 

Merryn will uncover which formulation of Golden Acrylic Paint will be best for you.

2:10 - 2:45 Golden Open Acrylics

How slow drying is OPEN?  Attend this lecture to find out.  

Merryn will show how to get the best effects with Golden's slow drying range of Acrylics.  

Opens accompanying mediums will be utilised along with subtractive painting techniques.

3:00 - 3:45 Golden Digital Mixed Media - Golden Digital Printing Grounds

Don't let your printer gather dust in the corner...learn how Golden's specialised 

range of grounds can turn your printer into an art making machine.

-SATURDAY 19th MAY Starting at 1:00pm

-Email: info@stlukeart.com  to reserve your place

-Bring your visual Diary...

For more information about Merryn Trevethan or if you are interested in 

enrolling in a Golden Workshop please visit the link below:

MERRYN TREVETHAN

A new day...

I'm always searching for new materials that will help to resolve ideas for my work, painting has satisfied me a lot, but sometimes, I just gotta' draw...

Now, I don't want to offend any painters out there, but I've always considered drawing a more noble pursuit, there is something so humble about taking pencil to paper.

I've always loved big rough, gestural drawing, but my heart lies with the intimacy of fine, delicate entangled line. The drawings I've enjoyed making the most were done with a light grey fine-liner on paper, the fragility of the scratchy marks and the soft subtlety of the ink sitting in the paper was wonderful.

But after using something like 200 pens for 4 large drawings I got the 'these will end up in landfill' guilts and stopped drawing like this. Which is a shame.
I've tried mimicking this with ink and nib, pencil, refillable pens, but nothing has come close.

Until now...

I've discovered Silverpoint! That's right, the original pencil. It's what the old masters used to draw with. And can I just say, it is wonderful!!
I have found the perfect tool for this feint, fine, scratchy line. It is such a beautiful process, drawing with a silver tipped pencil, that will last a life time, creating such delicate marks in grey, that oxidize to a red over time.

 It is beautiful and I couldn't be more excited because I've found the mark I'd lost, found a tool that will last my life time (no land fill guilt) and I can say I draw like da Vinci!

So, my board is prepared and I'm heading to the studio to make the magic happen...

Below is a link to a video on Golden Silverpoint ground if you are interested.
I know I advertise Golden a bit, but It's what I do, I work in an art supply store and discovering Golden Acrylics had revolutionized my  practice, so here's to them! And three cheers for Silverpoint!!!

http://youtu.be/YD8QHSCsd7M

What's rockin' my little old world...

And here it is...

One of the works in progress, a river delta from the sky.

The image isn't great, it was just a quick iphone progress shot, but I wanted to share it anyway.

Quick Promo...

My darling friend Ted McKinlay is having a solo show and the dude can draw!
I helped hang the show this week, it 's a beautiful show, I was very impressed, so come along and be equally impressed!

What has made me smile like a maniac in the studio this week....

So I've been searching for more satisfaction in my practice, and I think I've found it...
A way to incorporate all of the little methods, materials and process that I enjoy so much in to my own 'grand unified theory' (of painting, not physics, be reasonable!) it's basic and now seems pretty obvious, but I'm thrilled nonetheless!

I've been doing studies for this one work for years now and I've finally found a way to resolve it, what I've imagined matches up to what I'm making and it is very exciting...

Here's a picture of a study from a couple of years ago. It's a 5 x 5cm watercolour on paper.

But at last, I've gone bigger, I'm working on a 50 x 50cm panel. Said panel has been treated to many layers of Golden Crackle paste, absorbent ground, glass bead gel, fluid acrylics and most recently, a nice leveling isolation coat. Next week I bring in the big boys... That's right, it's time to paint in oil!

When my various forms of technology decide to get along better, I'll post photos of where I'm at, stay tuned.

My new thought for the day

A friend posted this on Facebook and it was just what I needed to hear. It's funny how it can be easier to trust the things you know when they are reaffirmed by someone else.
 Anyway, this little quote has summed up why I'm taking some time away from exhibiting to focus on just painting until I'm truly satisfied with how and what I produce...

Show Closing Next Week

Here's a little taste of the show that closes in a week, the last day is Saturday 3rd March so if you'd like to see it you'd better head on down to Hand Held Gallery in the Paramount arcade on Bourke street before it's too late...

Carina Nebula by Touch!

So I've been mixing media, playing with layering Golden acrylic mediums and gels, building texture and watching them interact... I've also been getting ready to paint in oil, I want to paint Nebulae and I can see the in oil, with layers and layers of soft translucent glazing building these beautiful gassy colourfields.

But again, I don't want to separate processes in my practice, I want to find my own 'unified thoery' of painting so I considered starting these oils on my mixed media grounds. 

Then I found this image...It was so close to what I had imagined for my work!

This is an image of the Carina Nebula (one of my top 5 favorites) shown in texture! It's so amazing, check out Hubblesite.org!

How beautiful is this?

I found this amazing image while doing some research, the hands are in the wrong positions, but even still, I thought it was really beautiful. I've always seen something 'godly' in the Hubble space telescope images and thought this was a really cute expression of that. The image is credited to Joe Tucciarone.

photons in/through my hands

I haven't been in to the studio this week, so I don't have any pictures to share but I'll share some thoughts from the week.
I have been thinking a lot about light... I've caught myself looking at reflections and thinking about photons and how they are magic, some will pass through and some will bounce back but you could never say which ones will do what. All you can really do is measure the probability and I like that.
Today I held a flashing bike light in my hand and sealed my fist, I watched how the red light made my hand glow and again though about those magic little photons, with their tricky particle/wave duality and I thought it was pretty cool that some bounced back against my hand and others passed right through it...

A little note for a big thank you

I just wanted to thank everyone who came to the opening last night, your support and kind words meant a lot. It was great to have so many people there with me to celebrate this show, 'cos I see it as kind of an important show for me...
It will be the last show I have for a while because I really feel the need to settle down in the studio and focus on the body of work that's been in my heart since I was at art school, a body of work that I haven't been ready to embark on until now.
This show marks the end of a phase in my practice, which I have enjoyed, but I'm ready to move on from.
 I wont be showing over the next 12 months or so, I'll be experimenting in the studio, but I will endeavor to post updates on the blog about where it's all going, so stay tuned.
So again, a big thanks for your support of this show, it was  a great send off in to the wide unknowns of where my practice is going now.

Opening night tomorrow!

The show opens tomorrow night, and I must say, I'm getting pretty excited!
Installation went very well and Megan was full of fantastic ideas for how to hang the show.
I'm quite pleased with it and can't wait for everyone to see what we came up with... and to see my first acrylic paintings in my last show for a time.

See you on opening night, but if you can't make it the show runs until March 3rd
x

The invites are at the printers!

Hasn't Megan done the most wonderful job with the invite! So very cute!

The show is coming together nicely, only a few works to finish and those empty gallery nightmares will cease.

So, the amazing little invites will be out in the world next week, which means not many sleeps until the show. So I had better get painting!

For Want of a Better Bird

Fascinated Sparrow. 2011.                                            Pearls Are a Birds' Best Friend. 2011. 

 Acrylic on clear primed Linen. 18 x 12.5cm.                     Acrylic on clear primed Linen. 18 x 12.5cm.

Hand Held Gallery

Opens Thursday Feb. 9th, 6-8 pm

The works in this show are formed by the idea that freedom is hindered by desire and looks at affluence, beauty and mortality from a slightly more sardonic angle.

These are my first acrylic paintings, I've discovered Golden Acrylics...

And there's no turning back!

This (very cute) little show will be my last exhibition for a little while.

I've applied to do my Masters (fingers crossed for me) so I'll be getting back to the studio, getting back to the research and most importantly...

Getting back to that experimental, mixed media, installation based work that has somehow disappeared from my practice in recent years.

But stay tuned to the blog and I'll keep you posted on the strange and wonderful things I discover working  a studio without deadlines!

See you at the show

x